Height: 5'5"
Weight: 135
Level: novice
Type of riding: all mountain/freeride - I don't see myself doing any tricks in the near future

I am trying to decide what setup to get. I picked up some Saloman Ivy boots at boxing day and have been renting the board (except i've been out for 6 weeks with a broken wrist). I was pretty sure I wanted the saloman lotus board then today when looking at through the Canadian e-tailers from the sticky I saw the Drake Charm.

I have not really heard of drake and wondered whether they were a quality brand or not?

I don't have any limits on money but dont want to spend a fortune either. I'm looking for something decent to learn on and expect I will want to upgrade in a couple of years. I'm thinking $300-400 for board, $150-200 for bindings.

I rode a pair of Rdie Vxns for most of next season. They are a quality mid-range binding. Otherwise, if you are willing to spend a bit more, K2 Virtues and Rome Madisons are excellent bindings suitable for riders at any level.

I rode a pair of Rdie Vxns for most of next season. They are a quality mid-range binding. Otherwise, if you are willing to spend a bit more, K2 Virtues and Rome Madisons are excellent bindings suitable for riders at any level.

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at both bindings you suggested and they both look good to me. I also checked out the boards and like the Luna, B-nice and the Lux. I was actually being kinda anti burton.... only I didn't want to be looked at like one of the girls who buys all burton gear just cause its burton gear. But the Lux looks like a good beginner board and I like the graphics...

How the heck do people end up buying the gear they buy? There is just so much out there and looking at it all just ends up giving to many options. When you have 3 bindings you are considering and 3 or 4 boards you end up with way to many combinations to process

Im thinking now maybe the Lux board with the Madison bindings. Thanks again.

Buying a set up can be mind-boggling, for sure. Luckily, board specs don't matter quite as much for a beginner. Basically, any freestyle deck will work for you - as long as the board isn't too stiff or something you'll grow out of too quickly, you'll be fine. At this point, I'd let the sales choose for me. Keep on eye on the boards mentioned here and buy the one that's priced the best and looks the nicest. You really can't go wrong!

Drake Boards and bindings are fine. They'd be perfect for a beginner/intermediate rider. Drake just got a bad wrap because a few years back they had a few problems, like all bindings do, that they refused to correct. My girlfriend rides the drake jade and they're a solid no frills binding. They're boards are on par with most others in their class. With the Charm you'll be getting exactly what you want. As with any other entry level board you'll want to upgrade in a few years anyways as you progress to more advanced parts of the mountain.

Drake Boards and bindings are fine. They'd be perfect for a beginner/intermediate rider. Drake just got a bad wrap because a few years back they had a few problems, like all bindings do, that they refused to correct. My girlfriend rides the drake jade and they're a solid no frills binding. They're boards are on par with most others in their class. With the Charm you'll be getting exactly what you want. As with any other entry level board you'll want to upgrade in a few years anyways as you progress to more advanced parts of the mountain.

Thanks. I was in my local shop today and they had the drakes on sale for $99. I asked the guy about them and he indicated they were good binding and that they were more of a binding company than a board company and they didn't stock the boards. However he said he has be riding drakes for a long time and they are good quality. I was at my other local shop and they have the Lux on sale for $209 so the set up would cost total $300 - i think thats what im gonna do.

I was actually out on a hunt for wrist gurads... had to go to 5 different shops before i found some. The guy at one shop said the schools locally made it manditory to have wrist guards for ski trips so in the course of a week they had 30ish parents come in and cleaned out their stock.

I was actually out on a hunt for wrist gurads... had to go to 5 different shops before i found some. The guy at one shop said the schools locally made it manditory to have wrist guards for ski trips so in the course of a week they had 30ish parents come in and cleaned out their stock.

Check out the new burton support gloves. Wrist guards kind of suck, I currently use dakines, and they really only give you slight protection. The support gloves have a mechanism on the back of the hand that wont allow your wrist to flex backwards but allows full flexabily forwards.

Check out the new burton support gloves. Wrist guards kind of suck, I currently use dakines, and they really only give you slight protection. The support gloves have a mechanism on the back of the hand that wont allow your wrist to flex backwards but allows full flexabily forwards.

Thats good to know. I am more of a mitten person, I'm sure i could get used to gloves though. I ended up picking up (before i saw this post) the red impact guards. They fit good under my burton mitts and i feel that they will provide enough stability to keep me relaxed, so that im not constantly focused on it. I don't want to end up back in cast EVER... worst 6 weeks of my life

EDIT: now i see they have support mittens. Im gonna see if i can take back the guards to get these.